


In Service of a Devil: Bringing Her Angel Back to the Place I Call Home

by AJYuushageah



Series: For Our Future [1]
Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Compliant, Chris's feelings are one-sided, F/F, HibiMikuKurisu is my everything and I just want them to be happy, Hibiki's always so affectionate she probably won't take issue with it, I wrote Miku pretty dark ngl, Kinda wanna write a follow up about Hibiki's reactions, POV where she actually talks about her problems rather than just singing about them, Self-Indulgent, even if she's also hopelessly obsessed with Miku, for now at least, fuck who isn't though, hopefully they won't be in the future, kinda turns into a songfic at the end I guess, mentions of Chris just suffering in general, mentions of Finé and the horrible things she did to Chris, missed opportunities smh, poly Yukine Chris, this idea has been in my head for years eating away at my soul, when will Hibiki stop breaking her girlfriends' hearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 08:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20060875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJYuushageah/pseuds/AJYuushageah
Summary: Set during episode 8 of Symphogear G, one day before the HibikiMiku date at the Tokyo Sky Tree and the incident that followed. Chris visits Miku while Hibiki recovers from the S2CA incident with Kirika and Shirabe, hoping to repay the other girl for her kindness and comfort her in this stressful situation. As she learns the extent of Miku's feelings for Hibiki and realizes her friend harbors dark secrets of her own, the two girls become closer than ever before. When Chris finally gains the courage to tell the other girl how she feels about both of her saviors, Miku makes an unprecedented request...However, bearing a cross containing all the evils of the world for someone she is utterly devoted to is just another Tuesday for Yukine Chris.





	In Service of a Devil: Bringing Her Angel Back to the Place I Call Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I have published in over 5 years. I have taken many creative writing classes since, but I can't exactly guarantee that my writing is any better than it was back then. 
> 
> The idea for this fic probably came to mind around the time that I finished G, yet I didn't bother to write it down until very recently. I have always admired Miku and Chris's relationship in season 1 and the manga, and aside from one Memoria story in XDU I've been disappointed that Symphogear seems to have forgotten about it entirely. Understandable given the show's focus on HibiMiku and Chris's own internal narrative addressing her feelings for everyone in her life instead of just these two, but disappointing nonetheless. 
> 
> So I decided to rectify that with a scenario I sincerely wish I could have seen in canon, especially as XV has finally seemed to remember this OT3 exists. 
> 
> Wishful thinking aside, I hope I've captured the Yukine Chris we all know and love faithfully in spite of the potentially headcanon-ish nature of her feelings toward Hibiki and Miku. 
> 
> Enjoy! Oh and I don't own Symphogear. Kaneko Akifumi, Satelight, King Records and Bushiroad do.

“I’m sure in over my fucking head _this_ time!”

Yukine Chris’s luck was very bad. In fact, you could say it was virtually non-existent. It was one thing after another in her life, and every event and misfortune that befell her was more humiliating and heartbreaking than the last. She just couldn’t catch a break to save her life, and that one break she did get stopping the Kadingir from blowing up the Moon should have killed her.

‘But God seems intent on keeping me alive like some kind of cruel joke. Maybe now I understand why Finé resented Him for rejecting her.’

When Chris got like this, her thoughts tended to go dark. Typically, she resorted her venting for the battlefield while she’s singing, opting to take her frustrations out on her enemies rather than herself. She didn’t know when she stopped practicing self-flagellation, but it might have been after that relentless busybody who wouldn’t take no for an answer Tachibana Hibiki gave her the strength to abandon Finé and trust in people like her, her senpai Kazanari Tsubasa and her relative 2nd Division Commander Kazanari Genjuuro (the old man ended up taking her under his wing as he had always promised). That idiot Hibiki was the pushiest and most obnoxious person she had ever met, yet she was drawn to her blinding warmth like everyone else. As stupid as the sentiment was, if anyone was going to save the world, it was her. Chris had no doubt in her mind that she could probably give those FIS morons the beat down they deserved and hold their hands just like she did hers.

If that same person she was thinking about wasn’t literally in the process of being consumed by the fragment of Gungnir lodged deep within her chest, just as Finé had predicted. And once she started to think about that, she realized she was almost at her destination: the Lydian Private Music Academy Dorms.  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite having learned all of the details and trying to stay positive, Chris was not taking Hibiki's condition well. She let out some of her frustrations exactly once while she and Miku were briefed the first time, and left the rest to her senpai. Tsubasa's methods to keep Hibiki from fighting were harsh and desperate, as the self-described Sentinel did not handle grief very well (not that she was any better, but she knew how to keep a cool head when she needed to). She understood how her senpai felt, of course, she had known Hibiki longer than her and watched her be the one who saw her old partner Kanade sacrifice herself for. The samurai aloofness was her senpai’s form of mourning and knowing the pain of loss and her own poor coping mechanisms, she couldn’t blame her for any of it.

Nevertheless, Chris told her to back off and give Hibiki some space to process her own circumstances. But she hated that she couldn't talk to Senpai about the current state of things, and felt like all of the hard-earned trust they had in one another was slowly shriveling up and disappearing.

When he wasn't discussing Hibiki's condition with his charges, Genjuuro was busy focusing on the geopolitical fallout resulting from the imminent impact of the Moon colliding with Earth. Genjuuro was different from Senpai in that during times like this he only reassured people that things would turn out fine and they should rest easy. But if you were around the Commander long enough, it'd be easy to tell that like her, he was wearing his own mask to keep everyone's spirits up. Chris knew about such masks, having worn them herself. That is why she decided not to talk to him either, even though he was the closest thing to a father she had since her parents died. She would never be able to thank him properly for all the things he had done for her. 

Moreover, Chris wasn’t close to anyone else at the 2nd Division, not even Tomosato and Fujitaka. And she didn’t want to burden her new friends at Lydian with information that they would be far better off not knowing and she still felt that she had no right to be around them at all. Her mission was to protect her new home and never take part in it, she decided.

This only left one person…Kohinata Miku. The roommate and best friend of Hibiki, the girl who that idiot called her “sunshine” and constantly sang about protecting her “future” while clearly referring to her (having been an ardent disciple and servant to Finé and her ideals ever since she stole her away from the UN squadron dispatched to rescue her from the sex traffickers in Val Verde, she knew a thing or two about devotion to a single person). Miku was also the girl who found and took care of Chris once she ran away from Finé, didn’t judge her for everything she had done (not that Chris would tell her at the time) and with who she traded advice on how to deal with Finé and Hibiki respectively, whose constant lying about her whereabouts and putting her life on the line put Miku’s heart into deep emotional turmoil and threatened to sever their inseparable bond.

And yet, she never got the chance to repay her. They now attended the same school and interacted whenever she and Hibiki did, but they had not had a one-to-one conversation again since. Some of that was unavoidable due to the constant demands of the present conflict with the FIS Symphogears and how much fighting she was forced to engage in as an Adaptor, but Chris merely saw those as excuses. The main reason she didn’t talk to Miku was that she feared getting in between her and Hibiki.

“This isn’t about me though, it’s about that idiot! Somebody needs to be there for Miku right now, and I’ve decided that person’s gonna be me! I can’t let her down.”

After she declared this, hoping no one could hear her internal voice, she grunted and rang the doorbell to Hibiki and Miku’s dorm.

“Be right there!”, a typically sweet yet powerful but now strangely strained and weary voice yelled from the other side.

Chris waited impatiently for the door to be opened, clutching the bouquet of stargazer lilies in one arm close to her chest and a bag of fresh taiyaki filled with red bean paste and mochi (Hibiki’s favorite) in the other. She brought it as a gift for the Gungnir user when she came back to the dorms and hoped Miku would use it as a bribe to prevent her from continuing to fight. She tried to stop quivering and force the tears slowly forming into their eyes back where they came from, but she knew with her wrinkled Lydian school uniform that she looked like a disheveled mess. She hadn’t slept in days, after all. How could she, with everything that had happened?

Finally, Miku opened the door, wearing her usual white sweater over her orange shirt and blue skirt with tights and boots. “Chris! I…uh…I wasn’t expecting you to come by. Is something wrong?”

Chris didn’t know how to respond without stammering. “H-Hi Miku, no I j-just wanted to stop by and s-see how you were doing, t-that’s all!” She couldn’t hide the luminescent blush on her face if she tried.

“O-Oh, I see. Well, I don’t see anything wrong with that, come in.” Miku was usually a lot more confident than either her or Hibiki (or anyone else she knew, really) whenever she spoke to them, whether it was about hanging out or general girls’ talk. But something was eerily different about her today, and it was greatly upsetting Chris. Yet she wasn’t about to back out of this now.

“S-Sure, thanks.” Chris entered the dorm apartment, taking deep breaths with each step and took off her shoes. Miku offered to take the flowers from her, giving them a quick smell, then going over to the kitchenette with them. She then came back to the living room and retrieved a vase standing next to the TV, taking it with her. Chris then entered the living room, where she sat down at the table while Miku went to the kitchenette to fill up the vase with water and put the flowers in. She still had the taiyaki in her hands.

“Would you like some tea with the taiyaki you brought, Chris?” Miku asked from across the room.

“Tea would be g-great!” Chris answered without hesitation, getting flustered again for no reason.

Several minutes later, both were sitting at the table with the lilies in the vase and plates of taiyaki on each side. The two each had a cup of tea in their hands and were taking small sips while not looking at each other. They didn’t say a word to one another, as neither was certain on what to talk about.

Finally, Miku broke the silence.

“These flowers you brought are really pretty, Chris."

Chris shuffled in her seat, looking down while holding her skirt with her hands. "I-I’m glad you like them. You know, I’m not p-particularly g-good with picking flowers for the right occasion and it was all the shop had on s-sale!” Chris sputtered out, regretting this visit more and more.

“The taiyaki is really good too...you knew that red bean and mochi is Hibiki's favorite, right?” Seeing that Chris was uncomfortable, Miku abruptly changed the subject.

Chris perked up at that, a smile slowly forming on her face. “Oh...I'm g-glad you like it. I uh...brought it for you and the idiot to share.” She rubbed the back of her neck nervously with her free hand, trying to look reassured.

She then picked up her cup of tea on the table and took a sip from it. “Um…the tea is delicious too,” she continued.

“It’s just regular Uji matcha, Chris,” Miku replied matter-of-factly, sipping from her own cup in her hands. She was every bit the perfect picture of purity and elegance. A true Yamato Nadeshiko that nobody deserved, not even Hibiki. 

“O-Oh, right. My bad.” Chris yelled at herself internally. ‘You idiot, why are you wasting her time with all this idle chatter. Get to the point already, you’ll have to talk about it sooner or later!’  
Chris coughed. Before she could say anything more, Miku spoke again.

“So anyway, you visited her yesterday too?”

Still holding the cup in her hands and regaining confidence, Chris responded. “Yeah, I was there in the sickbay with Senpai getting briefed on everything by the old man. Senpai said she’s not allowed to fight otherwise she’ll die, and it worked about as well as you would have expected.” She sighed, sipping her tea as she completed her statement.

“Hibiki has always been stubborn. Even if you’re frank with her, she doesn’t know when to realize her own limits. Whether it's fighting to save the Earth or putting off her homework until the very last minute and then trying to finish it without getting any sleep, she never gives herself a break. If she did, she probably wouldn't be sleeping in class only to wake up to Sensei yelling at her and embarrassing her. I'm used to it by now, but there's only so much I can do to get her to stop neglecting herself...”

Suddenly, Miku turned her head away from Chris. Her eyes were covered by her bangs, and she wore a dark expression on her face. She took a deep breath before speaking.

“Say Chris…do you know why Hibiki fights? Do you know why she pushed so hard to be accepted by Tsubasa-san, and why she didn’t give up on you? Why she even tried to give Finé a second chance despite all the horrible things she had done to us as well as Kanade-san and Tsubasa-san...to everyone, really?”

“I mean…it's not something I’d ever really thought about. I know she survived that Zwei Wing concert after getting that fragment of Amou Kanade’s Gungnir implanted in her and had survivor’s guilt but-“ Miku muttered under her breath and gritted her teeth. Chris noticed immediately, and to say she was concerned was an understatement.

“The concert _I _invited her to, but I had to miss because of family obligations so I let her go by herself!” Miku turned back toward her and screamed this sudden admission while tears began falling from her eyes.

“Miku…” Chris was completely bewildered by her friend’s behavior.

“Imagine what would have happened if I had been able to go with her. Maybe _I_ would have pushed her out of the way and gotten the Gungnir shard stuck inside of _me_ instead. Maybe _I_ would’ve been the one whose family was hated because we received reparations for disaster relief and to pay our hospital bill. Maybe _I_ would’ve been the one who was bullied and ostracized by all the other kids, who had sensational news articles painting _me_ as a murderer placed on my desk while everyone talked about what a waste of tax money _I_ was, pushed me down the stairs, posted notes saying “Murderer”, “Thief” and “Only you survived!” on the fence of my house and threw rocks through our windows. Maybe _Hibiki_ would've been the one who tried to tear them off before I came home and saw them, until her parents told me it wasn't safe to simply help _my_ best friend as much as I could!"

Miku was hysterical while saying all of this, and showed that she still had more to say afterward. Her breathing was heavy and Chris could tell this was a great burden on her that she hadn't shared with anyone else, and didn't dare interrupt. She was mortified seeing her in this state and wondered if Hibiki had ever been subjected to it.

'Note to self. Never _ever _piss off Miku. I don't think anyone who does will live to tell the tale.' She jotted that thought down internally before Miku continued her diatribe.

"Maybe _my dad_ would’ve been the one who was fired because his daughter died at that concert yet _I_ lived and the stress turned him into a drunken coward who left _my mom_ when things got too hard. Maybe _I_ would've been the one that she needed to comfort the whole time this was happening and maybe _she_ would’ve been the one who needed to make the decision about us going to a prestigious music academy far away from home where _I_ would be safe!

Maybe _I_ would’ve been the one that my idol Tsubasa-san hated because her partner died in order to save _me_, and maybe _I_ would’ve been the person who had to go out and fight the Noise without Hibiki or my family knowing!”

Chris remained silent, her eyes widened at the revelation about the interim between the concert and Hibiki’s awakening as a Symphogear user. Miku had her face in her hands, tears continuing to streak down her face as she mumbled out her feelings.

“And maybe we’d still be in the same place that we are now, except _I_ would be the one who went missing for 3 weeks and was proclaimed dead. _I_ would be the one that she mourned that entire time. _I_ would be the one who kept fighting and trying to stop the FIS, and _I_ would be the one in the sickbay right now…”

Miku lifted her face out of her hands, her face wracked with sorrow haunting Chris to her core.

“But at least Hibiki would be safe! If it was up to me, my sunflower would never leave this dorm. I don’t care if I would have to take her key holder and prevent her from going out, she’d be alive and I’d do everything in my power to build a world where she was happy! Because God, I love her so much I could _die_ and now I’m going to _lose_ her one more time, maybe this time it'll be _forever_! And there’s _nothing_ I can do about it because the world’s going to end anyway!”

Miku uncharacteristically stumbled across the table and fell into Chris’ arms, allowing herself to sob completely into her chest. The force of impact from this caused Chris to fall over and lie flat on her back, with Miku’s body draped above her. Although surprised by this sudden turn of events, she didn’t push her off nor did she try to fight back her own tears. Instead, she wrapped her arms around the small of her back and held her tight. Both continued crying and embracing each other while Chris stroked Miku’s hair softly.  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
They stayed like this for several minutes. That time felt like forever to Chris, but the entire time she thought about how this was the only opportunity she’ll ever have for a release like this. Miku chose her as the person to whom she bared her deepest and darkest feelings, and she was grateful. But now it was her turn.

“...I didn’t know…about all that stuff about what you and the idiot went through…I had no idea. She never told me anything. I-I never knew it was that bad.”

Chris was looking for the right words, but even she wasn't sure how to react to everything Miku had told her. But now she understood the idiot a little better, and why she was so attracted to her. Why she broke down on the night of the disastrous Queens of Music concert that ended in a stalemate between them and FIS where no parties were satisfied with the outcome. No matter how others treated her, Hibiki never gave up on people. Her boundless optimism was what kept her going above almost everything, except Miku. That's why she was able to save her and Tsubasa, and was trying desperately to hold her hand out to the other team of Symphogears and come to an understanding with other people who seemed to have been rejected by the world. Chris could only dream of doing the same herself. 

Miku didn’t move and continued to muffle into Chris’ chest. “She wouldn’t have. She didn’t even tell me all of that was going on. I had to find everything out for myself. Sometimes I wanted revenge against those people who hurt her. I didn't know how I would achieve it or whether it would satisfy me, but I wanted them to suffer for what they did to her so badly. I’m not a good person, Chris. Not like Hibiki. She calls me her "sunshine", but she's wrong. To me, she is the bright and warm Sun while I am the dark and cold moon Finé loathed so much. If she’s an Angel of God, then I am the Devil.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed at that. She released Miku from her embrace, brought one arm to her face to wipe her own tears, and sat up, startling the other girl who was still clinging to her chest.

“What the Hell kinda talk is that, Kohinata Miku?!”

“Chris?!” Miku exclaimed, taken aback by her sudden outburst. 

“Miku. Look at me.” Miku and Chris sat side by side on the floor, each looking at the other. Chris took one of her hands and wiped the tears from Miku’s eyes with a single finger, in the softest gesture someone as rough as she was could offer. She then made a guttural noise emphasizing her frustration, wondering how things even turned out like this.

“Tsk. Not a good person? The dark and cold Moon to the Sun? The Devil? First, waxing edgy poetic bullshit is_ my_ thing!”

Miku was left looking at Chris with puffy eyes and mouth slightly agape at Chris' sudden pronouncement, as Chris aggressively grabbed and began eating the taiyaki off the nearby plate. She could swear that she saw a light pink dusted across Miku’s face, but does not call attention to it. After what feels like an eternal moment, Chris continues.

“Second…you are the bravest person I’ve ever known. You’ve put up with so much bullshit for that idiot and you even saved me. Me, Yukine Chris, the person whose parents were killed in Val Verde and was thrown into child sex trafficking. The person who lost her virginity at a very young age and is forever tainted. The person who was offered a second chance by the UN and the 2nd Division, only to become Finé’s slave and disciple. The person who was led to believe that Finé was going to create a world where people like me would never suffer, even as she raped and tortured me every single night. She said it was for my own good, that she loved me the way nobody else could love somebody who was “impure”. So, I willingly activated Solomon’s Cane and carried out Noise attack after Noise attack, massacre after massacre, in her name. All for the sake of ending all warfare, all conflict, everywhere.”

"I never knew about any of that...but that's just all the more reason we want to be there for you!" Miku protested, wondering why Chris was beating herself up so much right after she had comforted her.

Chris sighed in response, reaching for her teacup on the table next to her where her taiyaki was and took it into her hands. She brought the cup up to her lips, still not taking her eyes off Miku, and took a sip of the warm liquid. This calmed her nerves exponentially, and finally, she was ready to continue.

“So…you may talk about throwing yourself in harm’s way to protect that idiot like you did until I stopped you from throwing yourself at her while she was over-heating at the water tower, or keeping her all to yourself and wanting to kill anyone who might hurt her. Those are impulsive thoughts that I can relate to!”

Chris took a deep breath before continuing. She looked at Miku now, with more tears creeping out of the side of her own eyes that had yet to fall.  
  
“But you and I are different! I _did_ all those terrible things that you’ve threatened to do, and I can never let myself forget that. Yet I’ve finally started to get to a point in my life where even if I shouldn’t be forgiven for my sins, I still want to protect this place that I’ve been calling home. This new family consisting of that idiot, you, Senpai, the old man and everyone at Lydian and the 2nd Division who all accepted me despite my past…I want to live so I can preserve all of that and nobody else will have to die!”

She took one more sip of tea and then put her cup back on the table. She gave Miku a strained smile. This is the most she’s ever said to anyone in her entire life, and she hoped that she wasn’t overstepping her boundaries. She thought she reassured herself that she was prepared for heartbreak if she had alienated Miku by telling her all of this, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Miku finally spoke. Her face was dry now, her expression stern. Despite the serious atmosphere, Chris thought she looked extremely cute and might have said so out loud if the circumstances were different.

“Chris, you know I love Hibiki, right?”

“I had figured that out from day one, honestly. It wasn’t all that different from…”

Chris gulped and took a deep breath, trying to stop all the blood from rushing to her face. When she had managed to prevent herself from becoming a tomato, she sat down again and took Miku’s hands into hers. Miku flinched a bit but did not retract them from Chris’s grasp.

“When that idiot and I fought for the last time, and she told me everything about herself. When she made me realize that Finé was just using me like she did everyone else. When she made me sing even though I thought I hated singing, and I forgot how much it lifted my soul out of the darkness. It prompted me to help some kids find their father and gave me the strength to run away from Finé. When you took me in and gave me the courage to face Finé once more. And when that idiot held my hand, it was so warm. And I think it was because it had been blessed by your own warmth. That warmth was hers, but I could feel that you had held them as well. That’s why I was drawn to her." 

It was nothing more than a miracle that Chris was able to say all of her feelings without getting flustered. But she could see Miku's eyes widening at this revelation, and realized that the hard part had yet to come. Yes, she loved Hibiki, the same way that Miku loved her...but she also felt that it might be possible that she loved Miku that way as well. Maybe her love for the other girl was different than that idiot's, but she knew that she couldn't imagine her life without either of them and didn't even want to try. Miku had a right to know how Chris felt entirely, as that was the entire point of this visit.

"S-So what I'm t-trying to say is...I understand how you feel about her because I think I...I love her too. That idi-...Hi-Hibiki." That was the very first time that Chris had ever addressed the idiot by her given name, and she was completely flaring up over it. But that was nothing compared to what she was going to say next.

"B-But since _you're_ the one who saved me...the one who raised me back to health so I could live another day and I could fight alongside her while you two made up...I don't know. I couldn't imagine my life without _either_ of you. I came by today because I wanted to see _you_, I wanted to talk with _you_ because there was nobody else I could talk to. I can't do anything for Senpai, and she can't do anything for me. I can't tell Hibiki the things that I'm telling you. And I just didn't want to be alone, but more importantly, I didn't want _you_ to be alone either, Miku! 

And we just spent all of this time, where you poured your heart out to me and I comforted you. And you let me tell you everything about me and what I've been through. So I t-think maybe...the whole reason I'm fighting is not just because I want to protect my home, not just because I want to make sure Hibiki doesn't have to take on these burdens of being a hero she never even wanted...but because I also want you to be happy, Miku."

Chris's breath was hitched saying all of this, yet she had no intention of holding herself back anymore. "And I could never forgive myself if...if something happened to you and she was put into a position where she had to fight. That’s why I’m not going to let her die, even if she hates me for stopping her. Even if I have to commit more sins that Senpai would disapprove of."

Chris abandoned all caution and walked over to Miku's side. She sat down, and Miku turned to face her. She made no comment on the other girl's actions.

"You really are the “sunshine”, and everything is warmer by your side. The reason that we're able to keep going...Hibiki might take that for granted, but I don't. Because I think I also love you, Miku. I'd do anything for you _and _that idiot. Even if neither of you can accept my love because you're so devoted to each other...I just want to have some of that warmth myself."

Miku was listening to Chris's declarations intently, yet Chris still couldn't read her. The anxiety of not knowing whether Miku would accept these feelings even if she appreciated them was getting to her, so she clutched her head with her hands and groaned. As she messed with her hair in frustration, she was slowly starting to tear up again.

"I still don't understand anything about who I am and everything that I feel! I know what I'm saying probably doesn't make any sense, and if I was only in love with Hibiki you'd be fine with that even if we were rivals in that regard but I just-”

Miku silenced her with an embrace. Since she was slightly taller than her, the other girl buried her head into the crook of her neck. Chris couldn't stop the tears anymore, so Miku rubbed her back in circles to comfort her just as she did for her moments before. She softly hushed her while doing this, trying to get her to calm down before continuing the conversation. The last time anyone had done this for Chris was when her mother was alive, so very long ago she almost forgot. Finally, Miku replied.

“Chris. I was thinking about you non-stop when you disappeared, not just Hibiki. I may not understand these feelings you have but believe me, I _want_ to. I'm sure Hibiki would want to as well. So please, don't beat yourself up. I want to be with you, _we_ want to be with you. It makes me so happy that someone cares that much about us, and I feel like I don't deserve it."

Not letting go of her, she continued. "All I want is to give Hibiki the world and leave nothing for myself. So the fact that you want to do everything for _both _of us...I really don't know what to say. I really want to protect her most of all. And I’m worried that the only way to do that is to go to the lengths you do-“

Chris pushed her away in protest and shouted her objection to Miku’s words while wiping away her own tears with her sleeve. Suddenly, she wasn't so upset about that confession not going as well as she had hoped.  
  
"Don’t become like me! I may have made peace with who I am, but that doesn’t mean I’d wish my burdens upon anyone else. The most you can do for that idiot is be there for her when she gets home and take her on some dates or something. Do anything you can to distract her from fighting. Just don’t leave her alone!”

Miku opened her mouth again to speak, but Chris continued. She had her hands on Miku’s shoulders and was unaware of how tightly she was gripping them.

“Meanwhile, Senpai and I will do everything we can to track down the FIS and see if we can’t beat some sense into them. I’ll go search Finé’s old mansion to see if I can't figure out what the Hell those plans of hers that loony Dr. Ver and the Americans seem to be trying to fulfill really are. There’s no way the 2nd Division clean-up crew that old man dispatched got everything, Finé was way too careful…for the most part. And I’ll let the adults deal with all the political stuff."

Miku waited for Chris to finish before speaking. She was concerned by how quickly Chris had rebuffed her and feared that she had given off the impression that she rejected her feelings. All she wanted to do was clear things up, but this was not the time. 

“We all have our own roles in this fight, and we’ve gotta stick to them. That’s all any of us can do right now.”

Chris went back to her side of the table and sat down with a renewed sense of confidence. She took one more sip of tea and sighed, putting the cup back on the table. Miku, still sitting across from her, was trying to absorb everything that Chris had said. She wasn’t lying when she said that she always thought about Chris, even if her feelings for the other girl wasn't the same as their feelings for Hibiki or Chris's feelings toward her. She thought very carefully about what she wanted to say to her next.

“Chris," she tried. Chris was eating one of the taiyaki from her plate, munching on it rather intensely while she held the rest in her hands. 

Chris raised her ears at this, replying with pieces of the pastry in her mouth. “Yeah, Miku? What's up?”

“Promise me that if the time comes where I end up doing something drastic to protect Hibiki, you’ll stop me. You’ll stop me and you’ll continue to prevent her from fighting at all costs. Even if you have to do things that would make Tsubasa-san angry.”

Miku considered the severity of this promise. She knew that Chris would have to break more laws than she even knew about in order to do what must be done. She knew that Hibiki and Tsubasa-san would be upset with them had they ever gotten wind of her plans. But at this point, everything was a matter of life or death. As selfish as it was, she could live with them hating her and she told herself Chris could too. And while she hated to take advantage of the other girl's feelings, she saw no other option. She knew that her idol could take care of herself, but if what she planned would make it so that Hibiki and Chris came back to her alive…she no longer cared what it would take. With renewed confidence, she finished her declaration to Chris.

“…But no matter what happens, you’ll both come home! This door will always be open for you. So please…promise me, Chris. Promise me you’ll be the one to bring our idiot home!”  
  
‘Don’t make me wait like the last time…not again. I can’t…I can’t go through that again. Especially if this time…it’s for real.’ She murmured an additional sentiment under her breath while getting choked up again, hoping Chris couldn’t hear.

But of course she did. And for a moment, Chris thought her heart was going to shatter hearing Miku’s deepest fears uttered aloud. Miku saw Chris die while sacrificing herself to stop the ion cannon Kadingir Finé had built to blow up the Moon and break the Curse of Balal that sowed disharmony between humans. Hibiki went berserk and nearly lost her humanity, prompting Tsubasa to bring her back to her senses and finish what Chris started by destroying the cannon entirely.

Despite the situation seeming hopeless, Miku continued to believe in Hibiki. She did her best to calm her friends down (especially Yumi) and find the best solution that would help keep them alive. Finally, after she, Andou, Terashima and Yumi used anime-inspired logic to crawl into the vent to get to the switchboard on the other side, power was restored to Lydian's school facilities. After this, they all sang their school's anthem to produce immense phonic gain which resulted in Hibiki regaining her spirit to fight and Chris and Tsubasa being raised from the dead and transform into their Symphogear armor once again. The trio was given one more chance to defeat Finé once and for all, and Miku continued to cheer Hibiki on the whole time. 

Once the immortal priestess in Sakurai Ryouko's body had been defeated, Hibiki tried to reason with her in spite of everything she did. But Finé insisted she would have the last laugh, and sent the fragment of the Moon she has broken off with Kadingir careening toward the Earth. After Finé finally faded away, the trio went into space to stop the fragment. Before this, Hibiki said to Miku that she'd be right back…so she shouldn’t give up on life.

The end result was a meteor shower of their own making. Then, weeks passed. The 2nd Division had kept them in custody yet told Miku that their trio of Symphogear wielders would not be considered missing in action, but dead. Eventually, yet another miracle happened and Hibiki was able to return to Miku…while Chris was able to start her life anew and her senpai resumed her idol career. Then, FIS betrayed the world and this current mission began. But she never expected things to escalate to this point. Despite everything that had happened since she never stopped to think that if this mission didn’t go to plan…this time they may not come home at all. She was determined not to let that happen.

Truthfully, even with Miku's warm embrace having soothed her, Chris’s head still hurt from everything. Yet in spite of the absurdity of their current situation…she couldn’t help but chuckle. That chuckle grew into a hearty laugh, the first time she’s laughed in so long.

“You’re asking me to take on all the evils of the world and sin one more time just for you and that idiot, huh? You really are the Devil. But maybe that’s what we love about you.”

Chris became flustered after realizing she said that, and stammered out faux indignation.

“B-But I’m n-not h-happy that y-you’re a-asking me that since I was planning on doing all of that anyway!”

Miku smiled at her friend’s antics and softly reached her hand across the table to grasp Chris’s hand in hers. “I wouldn’t ask that of anyone but you.”

Miku then leaned her head toward her and planted a soft kiss on Chris’s right cheek. She instantly turned into a tomato.

“O-Oi! W-What was that f-for?” Chris sputtered.

Miku giggled again. “For luck, silly. For the future we’re going to create. You, me and Hibiki.”

This was the happiest she had been the entire afternoon, and she didn’t want to let go of this moment.  
  
Chris pouted at this, but she didn’t dislike the feeling of Miku’s lips on her face. The moment was soft and warm, just like her. She wonders if Miku does the same thing to Hibiki every night before they go to bed and every morning before they go to school. And if she’ll ever have the chance to receive a peck of affection like that from Hibiki as well. She lit up yet again at this thought.  
  
“J-Jeez, y-you must be some kind of idiot yourself!” Chris retorted, but despite the exasperation behind her words, she couldn’t stop smiling.  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Sometime later, Chris made a suggestion to Miku. It was actually an excuse to get out of the house for some fresh air, but she wouldn’t tell her that. Of course, she wanted to see Hibiki as well, but she didn’t want to go back to the 2nd Division HQ by herself. 

“H-Hey, I’ve got an idea! Let’s go see that idiot. She’s probably just getting out of sickbay now.”

“I would like that very much, Chris. Let’s take the taiyaki to her as well, I’m sure she’ll be hungry!”

After cleaning up a bit and packing the taiyaki back into its to-go box, Miku and Chris walked to the door of the apartment and put their shoes on. Once Miku opened the door, Chris pulled on her skirt while pouting.

“What is it?” Miku said, knowing that expression too well.

“Um…can you hold my hand on the way there? At least until we reach the 2nd Division headquarters. I don’t care if anyone sees.” Her face had a tinge of red across it as she said this.  
  
“Chris…” Miku wasn't sure what to make of the offer, yet she smiled at her anyway.

"Sure." She took her hand in hers as they walk out the door together.  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As they were walking, Chris started humming one of the songs she sang in school. She couldn’t help but focus on some of the lyrics that she thought described her feelings best.

_“I was drawing a monochrome future_  
_ Still searching for color… but now,_  
_ Why is it, why is it_  
_ I can see, it’s slowly changing colors and_  
_ a rainbow flower is blooming”_

Miku recognized that song, having heard Chris sing it during a karaoke contest. She had a feeling that the lyrics were referring to Hibiki at first, but now she recognized that they were also referring to her. She still didn’t know what to make of this whole situation, but she was happy that someone cared for her just as much as Hibiki did. She didn’t want to take advantage of that feeling, even if she wasn’t certain she could reciprocate it.

Nevertheless, she found herself singing along with Chris.

_“Something to believe in” "_ _Something important”_  
_ I’ve finally found it…That’s why I’ll go forward…”_

Chris didn’t expect Miku to join in, but she followed with the lyrics that came next.

_"This sunny spot, this warmth,_  
_ this severity also this connection and everything, everything_  
_ to protect the place you gave to me”_

Chris and Miku were now singing in unison, both facing toward the horizon with a determined glint in their eyes. Both girls were perfectly in sync, and neither wanted to stop singing in this moment.

Chris wished that moment would never end.

_“It’s fine if I smile, right?_  
_ You’ll forgive me, right?_  
_ I’ll try my own_  
_ Best effort, best effort_  
_ From my heart, from my heart_  
_ As it is now,_  
_ It’s fine if I sing, right!?”_

As she continued to sing, Chris was thinking about her ultimate goal.

‘I’m going to make a world where there’s no need for miracles. For my sunlight. For my future. Because I’m finally home.’

_"__…Like snow melting, for some reason, my overflowing tears won’t stop_  
_ Like this, like this, I’m warm…_  
_ My place to go home to”_

She didn’t even have to look at Miku to know she was thinking the same thing. And with that, both sang the final lyric together.

_“My place to go home to.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I included some lyrics from "Kyoushitsu Monochrome" (her B-side for G sung in episode 4) at the end since I had mostly run out of things I wanted these two to do together. 
> 
> Assume that the events of the second half of G still transpire as normal, but I hope that I've provided enough foreshadowing and insight to inspire you to think about Miku's decision to don the Shenshoujing Ver gave to her in episode 9-10 and the Miku vs. Chris fight that followed in a brand new light (heh).
> 
> Feedback would be greatly appreciated. I plan on writing more soon.


End file.
